(554e) Relating Enzymatic Hydrolysis Yields To Substrate Features For Corn Stover And Poplar Solids Produced By Leading Pretreatment Technologies

Enzymatic digestion data is related to substrate features for solids prepared by leading pretreatment technologies of ammonia fiber expansion, ammonia recycle percolation, controlled pH, dilute acid, lime, and sulfur dioxide pretreatments to gain new insight into mechanisms that account for differences in performance of different pretreatments and feedstocks as part of the cooperative CAFI project. Controlled sources of corn stover, an agricultural residue, and poplar, a woody biomass, are used to gain insight into changes in performance for these two distinct types of cellulosic biomass. Enzymatic hydrolysis is conducted according to standard experimental protocols on the solids from each pretreatment using single lots of commercial and advanced cellulase enzymes provided by Genencor International. The impact of using combinations of different enzyme activities (e.g., hemicellulase) and additives (e.g., non enzymatic proteins, surfactants) on total protein demands is being developed as well. Key features hypothesized to influence solids digestibility are measured and related to hydrolysis performance to account for how different pretreatment technologies, substrates, and enzyme activities interact and gain new insight into key mechanisms that control performance.